DVD, Smallville S4 (Gone)
I think this just edges it as the better episode so far, thanks to the action, but not by much. While it does some of the things we want, it also frustrates in the usual ways too. For example, we get a thrilling helicopter attack on Lois & Clark (hmm, sounds like a good name for a TV series!), where black-suited ops thugs with taser rifles or something, come after them. This series isn't one where reality is ever that real, but Lois being a martial arts expert that can take on a trained soldier as easy as 1-2-3, then without getting short of breath tells Clark they better go... it's more unbelieveable than the metal man mutant Trent, and his 'Terminator 2' liquid metal body.
That's another thing I always found annoying. In the first couple of seasons they didn't bring freaks-of-the-week into it without explaining who they were, giving us something to relate to, but whenever they've done it since it's generally a comic-book excuse that they needed a fight scene. Trent is in and out of the story as fast as any baddie before him. Oh, and Lois must really be an easygoing sort, since she sees metal boy disintegrate into slops and burn away in the molten vat, and just makes a throwaway comment about this town being weird!
It can feel like you're picking holes for the sake of it, but maybe I'm just too old for 'Smallville' now. I can't accept these 'teens' (most of them are considerably older in reality), doing their amazing stuff. There's always suspension of disbelief, but I'm still clinging on to the old episodes that I really liked. The character interactions are awry too. Jonathan saying Lex isn't so bad because he helped save Chloe (which, by the way was a good bit, and I was glad old Gabe wasn't killed as I expected the result of the explosion to be that Chloe had somehow survived, but her Dad (one of the few original recurring characters left) would bite the dust). Clark's the one who notes Lex gets Luthercorp now. It also seemed a bit of a jump for him to suggest Lex is destined to be his enemy. On what basis? And aren't students supposed to be poor? Jason comes all the way back from France to find out why Lana left! He must really like her.
It was good to see the Talon again, although I wondered if it was just so they could use an existing set and didn't have to build somewhere new for Lana to live. You'd think it would bring back bad memories of liver-damaged Adam. The best moment is Chloe's rescue, after the fight. Her face lights up and it's so wonderful to have characters full of joy in each other's presence instead of being slightly miserable. Again, I felt the episode was scrappy, without a proper story to it. It had plenty of good bits, especially whenever Lionel was on screen, but I always will prefer the time when everything was subtle, undercurrents, and unspoken. Now everyone's cards are pretty much on the table, which loses dramatic tension.
What can I say? I hope Chloe get back to being chirpy and forthright, and we don't want Lois overshadowing her position, which I expect crossed Allison Mack's mind. Martha and Jonathan need to be used more. Apart from that I think they needed to get writers who understood how to craft a proper story with an arc, and a conclusion, instead of rushing from one scene to another to mask the fact they don't know how to tell stories coherently.
**
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